I feel for the West coaches. I really do. Picking seven All-Star reserves from this season's talented crop was a thankless task. My job? That's considerably easier. I get to second-guess their selections.

So…

No Baron Davis?

I know. This is justice. Davis quit on the Hornets three seasons ago. He wanted out of New Orleans, he got his wish and now they're not letting him come back for the All-Star game.

Even more poetic: the player who possibly knocked Davis from the roster? Hard-working Hornets forward David West.

Somewhere, Byron Scott is laughing.

Still, if being a past malcontent tarnishes one's All-Star credentials then why is Jason Kidd starting? And Allen Iverson? Davis quit on his teammates three years ago. Kidd did the same last month.

Based on his performance this season, Davis deserves to go. So does Brandon Roy, of course, but for pure entertainment value, I'll take the Bearded One chucking one-legged three-pointers any day.

Here then is the All-Snubbed team. It has a decidedly West bias, as it should. If there truly was justice, the "Leastern" Conference would have to give up one of its reserve slots.

To Davis.

G – Baron Davis: He's averaging 22.3 points, the second-most of his career, and 8.1 assists. On Wednesday, he helped lead the Warriors past the Hornets. Unfortunately for Davis, the coaches' votes had already been counted. Honorable mention – Deron Williams: In spite of Paul's vast improvement, there are more than a few GMs who would prefer to have this guy directing their offense.

G – Manu Ginobili: Spurs are slumping, but that's no fault of his. Even with his shooting hand dinged up for the past month, he's averaging a career-high 19.5 points, a three-point hike from his previous best, while clocking under 30 minutes a night. He's the engine that revs the defending champions. Honorable mention – Tony Parker has the numbers, but also a bad left heel, so he wouldn't play anyway. Jose Calderon gets the call here for keeping the Raptors running during T.J. Ford's absence.

F – Hedo Turkoglu: His 19.5 points per game is an increase of more than six from last season. He's hit big shot after big shot (just ask the Celtics), he often initiates the Magic offense, he's taking more than six rebounds per game and he has the same name for every person he's ever met: “Buddy.” What more can you ask? Honorable mention – Stephen Jackson: Warriors are 27-13 since his return, which is why some people consider him, not Davis, the team's MVP.

F – Josh Howard: There's a reason why the Mavericks have refused to part with him in any trade. He can score inside and out, he's tough on the boards and though his defense is a bit overrated, his motor rarely slows. Dirk Nowitzki is still Dallas' best player, but Howard is gaining. Honorable mention – Al Jefferson: He's averaging 21.2 points and 12.2 rebounds. Even on a bad team that's good.

C – Chris Kaman: He's averaging 17.2 points, 13.9 rebounds and 3.0 blocks. A healthy Elton Brand probably would have cut into his board average, but that shouldn't diminish his candidacy for Most Improved Player of the Year. In short, he's playing how the Clippers had hoped he'd play last season. Honorable mention: Marcus Camby: He leads the league in blocked shots and is second in rebounding, but does anybody think the Nuggets deserve three All-Stars when they're clinging to the West's No. 7 seed? If so, George Karl better be sweating.

G- Baron Davis;
of course. who wouldnt agree? tthe best all aroudn point guard in the league and still loses out to the big names and the "hot player" on the "hot team".

G- Manu Ginobili;
no matter how much i hate the guy, he has tore it up this year. of course you can say that about every year, but he has definitely improved this year. how can you improve from an allstar year? see manu ginobili. how he didnt make the team, im not sure. i actually was kinda shocked the popular one didnt make it, but i understand it.

F- Stephen Jackson;
some of you might not agree, some of you will. even charles barkeley himself, said that jackson deserves to be an allstar. and why shouldnt he be? the team starts 1-6 during his suspension. when he comes back they immediately go 8-2 in the next 10 games. he has been clutch all year and though he has been rather streaky lately, his importance to the team IMO is allstar worthy.

F- Josh Howard;
i was gonna put shawn marion in but i can not ignore the way howard has played. when dirk isnt having a big game, howard does. when dirk is having a big game, howard is too. howard is their second option, but can be a first option almost anywhere else.

C- Marcus Camby. who else is gonna get the kind of triple doubles this guy gets? damn well capable of putting up a 20, 20, 10 night (10 being blocks). david west instead of marcus camby? never in my life would i do that. the only reason i could see why he was left off the team is cuz the nuggets already have 2 starters in ai and melo.

who should not be an allstar?

1. brandon roy. not cuz i dont like the guy or cuz he's not deserving of it. i do like the guy and he does deserve the spot. but he's young and will have many chances to be an allstar in his career. i guarantee at least 5 selections in his career. let a veteran take the spot, meat.

2. david west. the most undeserving of those whom i am about to name. with people like josh howard, shawn marion, chris kaman, and marcus camby not on the team, i really dont see how west deserves the spot over any of those guys (except for the fact that kaman has a sub-.500 record).

3. carmelo anthony. im gonna take a lot of heat for this, and im ready for it. i wont necessarily argue with those people, but remember that this is my opinion. carmelo in no way has shown me that he is an allstar this year over baron, marion, josh howard, stephen jackson, manu ginobili, marcus camby, or brandon roy. the only reason he's starting is cuz it was a fan vote. he is popular so he got votes. he probably woulda gotten the votes of coaches and still be an allstar, but i dont see any improvement from his play last year. i dont even see him at par with last year's melo. the reason the nuggets are where they are is cuz of ai and camby. melo needs to step it up.

that's pretty much it. i have no real problems with the east team. i think it might be a little small, but i really dont mind any of the players on their team. hedo could be an allstar, Gwall could be an allstar...but as far as the ones that made it, i cant argue with the coaches.

"the victorious warrior wins first, and then goes to war; the defeated warrior goes to war first, and hopes to win."- The Art of War

This is the dumbest all star I remember (when it comes to player picks, that is).

The way I see it, these guys could (in some cases, should) be in:

WEST

Baron Davis.- He's leading our team to the playoffs, doing everything that can be expected of a team leader, ranks 12th in scoring (22.2 points), seventh in assists (8.1) and second in steals (2.5), with also 4.8 rebounds per game.

But, for some reason, Brandon Roy is apparently more deserving of an all star spot than him. Amazing.

Baron is the biggest snub, but not the only one...

Stephen Jackson.- He's the other catalyst of our success. I don't care what people says. To win consistently, we need both Baron and Jackson. The problem with Jackson is his bad rep around the league and that he's not always a consistent performer.

Marcus Camby.- Almost as big a snub as Baron. Camby can be named the DPOY but, apparently, he's not good enough to go to the all star game. I can only laugh at this snub...

Josh Howard.- Howard is another of those second line guys. He does a bit of everything, but some of those contributions, like defense, doesn't show on thet stat sheet...

Manu Ginobili.- Doesn't play as much as other stars, and that hurts his stats, but he's one of the best players of the Spurs, and he delivers every game.

Jose Calderon.- The third biggest snub. He should be starting for the east, above Billups, Kidd or any other PG. But, for some reason, if you don't score much, if you don't have many highlights, that measn you're not all star material. Calderon has been the best PG of the east, without comparison. Kidd and Billups get all the accolades... but Calderon has outplayed both of them this year. And it's not only me who says that. Just look at how Toronto performs on the court when he's out there. Stats don't always tell the whole story.

Also a snub, although not as big...

Hedo Turkoglu.- Not a big fan of his, but Turkoglu has played better than Joe Johnson, at least. Even Ray Allen and Richard Jefferson deserve more consideration than Johnson.

And no, Gerald Wallace was not a snub...

As for who should NOT be there:

David West.- It's a coincidence the game is played in 'Nawlins?. You think so?

Brandon Roy.- He's gonna make a lot of all stars in his career... but he didn't deserve this one. As good as he has been, there have been better guards that didn't make the team.

Carmelo Anthony.- He played one month at almost MVP level... and he went to the all star because of that month. But one month alone should not make you an all star.

Joe Johnson.- How the ******* **** can Joe Johnson be an all star?. Almost as bad as the David West selection...

Dwayne Wade.- I've changed my mind about him. If Kaman and Al Jefferson are not all stars because their teams suck, why treat Wade differently?

Oh, well... another all star I'm gonna miss. I lost my faith in these games a long time ago, so it's not a surprise what they did with the selections, but it's still disappointing to see that the work of great players is not recognized.

Last edited by TMC on Fri Feb 01, 2008 9:20 am, edited 1 time in total.

My favorite quote of the whole segment was when Nellie said, "Y'know, the franchise gets absolutely no respect. It goes back to when JR was averaging 25 points a game and he didn't even get considered."

I still think that this could be a good thing. Baron is pissed. Jackson is pissed. Nellie is pissed. The fans are pissed. Going to be a hell of a lot of intensity at the game tonight. Poor Charlotte is going to be getting it.

Not just Charlotte... the LEAGUE needs to watch their ass. The Dubs got something to prove in the second half of the season. Webber wants to show he's still got it, BD wants all-star recognition, Nellie and Jax wanna get the team wins to make Baron look like a great leader... its all coming together in the 2nd half.

32 wrote:Not just Charlotte... the LEAGUE needs to watch their ass. The Dubs got something to prove in the second half of the season. Webber wants to show he's still got it, BD wants all-star recognition, Nellie and Jax wanna get the team wins to make Baron look like a great leader... its all coming together in the 2nd half.

Thats exactly right...if everyone thinks the Dubs have played their best basketball already, I think they are sorely mistaken.